"Seele!?"
"How did you get here?"
While asking excitedly, Welt didn't forget to handle the immediate problem.
He gently tapped Stelle's forehead with his cane, completely calming the rampaging Stellaron that had already been mostly neutralized by Honkai energy counteraction.
With a light tap of his cane on the ground, various objects floating around due to the simulated black hole's gravity slowly drifted back to the floor.
Caelus's eyes flashed with surprise.
This move alone was enough to demonstrate Old Yang's exquisite control over gravity—it seemed the Path system had strengthened him by no small margin.
Maybe I should just have Seele switch to the Path system too~!
The character cards produced by the system had a very high priority, so high that the Path mechanism could treat Caelus and Seele as separate individuals.
Seele stepping onto a Path wouldn't be affected by Caelus, especially since the Path of Elation itself was compatible with all other Paths.
[I don't mind if the host does this.]
Noticing the fleeting thought in Caelus's mind, the system immediately spoke up to persuade him.
[The host should have already noticed their own talent. While Imaginary energy and Honkai energy are no different in energy level, the host's control over Honkai energy far surpasses their control over Imaginary energy.]
Did it really think it had randomly chosen a host to bind with?
[Look at you, getting impatient again.]
Sensing the system's urgency, as if it were dragging along a clueless brother to a computer market, Caelus started to lecture it.
[I was just joking.]
Not to mention that the Honkai energy within Himeko was from the Honkai Impact 2 version, even if it were from the Honkai Impact 3 version originating from the Cocoon of Finality, it might not necessarily be inferior to Imaginary energy.
Although Honkai energy was derived from a variant of Imaginary energy, processed or guided in some way to alter its properties.
Star Rail wasn't some fantasy novel where older, more primitive things were inherently stronger.
Moreover, the Path system was limited to this single universe—traveling to other worlds would strip away the enhancements from the Paths.
The Honkai energy, akin to that of the Will of the Honkai from an unknown source, was entirely Seele's own power. It could be used not only in the Star Rail world but even beyond the Imaginary Tree!
Only if Caelus had gone completely nuts would he trade it for an energy system with such limited scope.
Gradually accustomed to his dual-core processor brain, Caelus multitasked, his thoughts drifting while he turned to look at Welt, who wore a serious expression.
"Uncle Yang, you know Seele?" March 7th's face was full of astonishment.
Dan Heng and Seele also cast puzzled glances his way.
"Yes, Seele... is a good friend of an excellent successor I once mentored."
Welt was overjoyed to see someone familiar.
Having traveled on the Express for so long, he knew that many planets in this universe bore similar "flowers," but this indigo-haired girl before him undoubtedly came from his homeland.
The distinctive Honkai energy and Stigmata were there—how could he be mistaken?
She was definitely a junior from his hometown!
But why did Seele seem a bit off?
A sliver of doubt emerged amidst the joy of meeting an old acquaintance in a distant land, until Welt fully met the girl's gaze.
Her gentle, timid demeanor, like that of a small animal, and her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment gradually calmed Welt down.
No!
Something wasn't right!
"Are... you Seele?" After a few seconds of silence, Welt tentatively asked.
"Yes, My name is Seele Vollerei, but... Mr. Yang, who are you? How do you know Seele?"
Too lazy to take the stage himself, Caelus-Seele directly activated auto-battle, handing over control of her body to White Seele and telling Seele there was no need to lie—just respond and answer honestly.
After all, at this point in time, Seele had no idea who Welt was.
"Huh? You don't know me?"
Seele's demeanor toward a stranger left Welt somewhat taken aback.
"Wait!"
After carefully observing the girl before him, Welt noticed something unusual—the girl in front of him seemed far more "youthful" and inexperienced compared to the Valkyrie Seele he remembered, who had already become capable and independent.
Her delicate demeanor reminded Welt of the Seele he had first come to know...
With a serious and solemn expression, Welt softened his tone as much as possible and asked Seele a few questions.
Faced with a person who seemed to know her but was entirely unfamiliar, Seele initially felt panicked and unsure of what to do.
But remembering the instructions from her other self, she responded truthfully in her soft, gentle voice.
"What's wrong? Did you mistake her for someone else?"
Himeko's gentle tone interrupted Welt's contemplation. As if waking from a dream, old Yang noticed March's eager gaze and Dan Heng's watchful eyes.
"Ah, it seems I made a mistake."
With a hint of awkwardness, Welt smiled and shook his head.
"What a shame!"
March 7 let out a light sigh. "I thought Uncle Yang might have found a clue to getting home... But if Uncle Yang were to leave the Express, I'd really miss him."
"Finding a clue to get home doesn't mean I'd leave immediately."
Welt continued with a smile. "This world is quite fascinating. I really enjoy traveling with everyone and am in no hurry to return. It's just..."
Welt didn't finish his sentence, merely smiling.
*Just that going home means facing an extremely furious lobster-headed guy, right?*
Caelus silently completed the latter half of the sentence in his mind.
"However, even though I mistook her, I'm not entirely clueless about Seele's situation."
Noticing that everyone, including Seele, was looking at him, Welt adjusted his glasses and continued.
"If I'm not mistaken, Seele likely comes from a parallel world of my homeland, or perhaps a highly similar World Bubble."
March 7 scratched the back of her head, tilting it in confusion. "I know about parallel worlds, but what's a World Bubble?"
"Well, that's a long story..."
Anti-Entropy male mom's class is now in session~!
Welt began to educate everyone on some basic knowledge of the Honkai world and shared his speculations about Seele's origins, earning nods of agreement from Caelus.
Old Yang's theory was: Seele had traveled from a parallel world or World Bubble within the solar system to this galactic universe.
The method of travel aside, unexpected events occur in the universe every moment.
The presence of Honkai energy proved that Seele must have originated from the solar system. However, her youthful appearance, inexperienced personality, and lack of recognition toward him would never lead a normal person to first assume she came from the past.
In fact, most wouldn't even consider that possibility!
Anyone with sound logical thinking has an innate understanding of the strict nature of time, let alone old Yang, who was raised under the guidance of two scientific giants.
The disappearance of a single Illusory Sea Butterfly could have unimaginable effects on "history"!
If Seele disappeared, it would cause severe psychological trauma to Bronya, preventing her from completing the core inheritance and metamorphosis as planned...
In a chain of causality, Welt might not even have had the chance to stand here today.
The most likely candidates are those parallel worlds and world bubbles that possess countless counterparts.
[Speaking of which, I'm quite curious as well.]
Caelus, who knew the truth, had been aware of the time paradox issue from the start but hadn't had the chance to ask in detail.
[System, if I find a way to help Seele leave the Sea of Quanta ahead of time and return to the original world, what impact would it have on the 'future'?]
The system seemed to be checking its backend and soon provided an answer.
[Any causality generated through us will not affect the 'predetermined' future. Instead, it will create a superposition of timelines, where dual 'futures' coexist and intersect before collapsing together.]
Listening carefully to the system's report, which sounded like it came from a third-party verification agency, Caelus performed a mental translation from Chinese to Chinese.
The result was a bizarre and counterintuitive logic unique to the microscopic world—both anti-human and profoundly strange.
'No impact on the future' and 'can change the future' coexisted, much like how microscopic particles are both waves and particles.
[So, is there a way for me to directly affect the solar system?]
This was the real focus of Caelus's concern.
He didn't hold high hopes for the system, but its bugs were truly useful!
Perhaps sensing Caelus's thoughts, the system fell silent for a moment.
[Under normal circumstances, it's impossible. But... just as you imagined, due to the existence of the bug, I can reverse-map your consciousness into Seele's body.]
[You've done well... oh no, you've done terribly well, System!]
Watching Stelle being cared for by March 7th, Caelus sincerely praised the system.
However, this matter required careful planning.
Even if his consciousness could be reverse-mapped into Seele's original body, he currently lacked the ability to break through the Sea of Quanta and return to the original world.
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For some reason the Author wrote Himeko from Honkai impact instead of Seele in this chaper